Cardboard Boat Regatta | Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland

Set Sail With Us!

Construct your life-sized boat out of nothing but duct tape and cardboard. Then, join us in the pond as we host a friendly competition to find the best boat in a variety of categories. Sharpen your design and construction skills by putting them to the ultimate test! Custom fun patch and participation ribbon included. This event will be outdoors with water stations available. Be prepared to get in the pond and to help with removal of your boat.

Date: June 20, 2026

Time: 12:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.

Location: Camp Crooked Lane

Rules & Regulations

Register your Team

Each team must meet the following criteria:

Has one adult representative guide them through their build process and help them on race day.
Has between two and four Girl Scout participants. Please be sure the Girl Scouts are similar in age. Each heat includes teams that are similar in age.

*Only two Girl Scouts can be in the boat on race day. The other teammates can help with the design and build of the boat. They can also help racers board their boat and cheer on race day. All teammates receive a fun patch and participation ribbon.

Please visit the Team registration page to register your team.

To register Participants, add the number of team members to your cart, and then use the add-on to select the appropriate team size(s). If you are registering multiple teams, select as many as appropriate. One Team of 2: $26, one Team of 3: $29, one Team of 4: $32.
Enter your information and check out to pay for your tickets.

Read the following information on this website to get ready for race day!

Spectators are welcome to come view the races! Please register using this page, and don’t forget to bring your own seating (lawn chairs, lawn blankets, etc.). You can set up anywhere along the pond except for marked off areas used for participant entry and judging. Seating locations are first come- first served. Spectators cannot use pop up tents because they can interfere with the view of others.

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Construct your Boat

Build your boat and paddles with the rules below. Teams must have their fully constructed boats checked in by 12 PM on the day of the event. You can build parts of your boat or your entire boat off site and bring it with you. You can build or assemble final pieces of your boat the day of the event. Camp Crooked Lane is open at 9 a.m. for this purpose.

Construct your boat out of cardboard and duct tape. Do not use any other materials to construct your boat.
Cardboard
- Approved Cardboard: Only corrugated cardboard. Cardboard can be any thickness.
- Prohibited Cardboard: anything other than corrugated cardboard including
  - Cardboard bonded to another material
  - Coated cardboard (for example, wax coated)
  - Pre- treated cardboard
  - Non-corrugated materials including resin or wax coated packing cases
  - Solid cardboard
  - Carpet roll tubes
  - Wood
  - Metal
  - Styrofoam
Duct Tape
- Approved Duct Tape: Any duct tape of any color. Only apply duct tape to seams and joints in the cardboard. You cannot wrap the entirety of your boat in duct tape.
- Prohibited Duct Tape: anything other than duct tape including
  - nails or metal
  - wood fasteners
  - Staples
Construction specs
- Size must not exceed 84’’ long or 36’’ wide.
- Sides must be at least 18’’ and no more than the height of the shoulders of the occupants when seated in the boat.
- No motors or sails.
- You must construct your own paddles out of the same materials as your boat. Limit of two paddles per boat.
- The design of your boat must not interfere with your ability to exit if it sinks. Inspection includes a full demonstration of how you can exit your boat.
- Enclosed areas cannot extend past the waist. An enclosed area is any area that goes above your body such as a lap bar or kayak style enclosure.
Decoration: You can use the following materials for decoration ONLY. You cannot use these items for any structural purpose. Please help us keep Heritage Pond clean.
- Paint: You can paint hulls with any one-part paint, acrylic paint, or latex paint. Paint must be completely dry before entering the pond. No epoxy glues, fiberglass resins or multi-part varnishes or paints. No tar-based substances like roof coatings.
- You cannot wrap your boat in anything including plastic or duct tape.
- You can use non-corrugated paper towel rolls for decoration.
An Adult must supervise the building process.

Click on the button below to watch a video with helpful tips on how to construct your boat!

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Keep it Girl Led - The Cardboard Boat Regatta is meant to empower Girl Scouts to design, construct, and race cardboard boats. Girl Scouts, not adults, should be responsible for the design, construction, and racing of their boats. Adults can help by providing guidance, support, materials, and help with safety items (i.e., cutting cardboard). Teams sink or swim on race day! Participants learn about boat design, teamwork, and sportsmanship no matter the outcome.

Sportsmanship - Our panel of judges choose winners in a variety of categories including speed and theme. Winning teams receive a small trophy for their efforts. It is important to note that most teams do not win anything. We encourage your team to prepare for this reality. Have a talk about sportsmanship and what that looks like. Celebrate when other teams succeed and congratulate them on their accomplishments. Be a gracious winner and try not to make others feel bad for losing. Think about your experience in the competition and what you gain even if you do not walk away with a trophy.

Teamwork - The Cardboard Boat Regatta encourages teamwork. Learning to work on a team is a valuable skill. Communicating with each other, recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, and creating a positive environment for success are all important parts of the process.

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Day of the Event

Before you Arrive

What to Wear:

Footwear: closed toed secure and safe footwear. For most participants this means an old pair of sneakers. Do not wear Rubber rain boots, Crocs, or flip flops.
Clothing: Form-fitting, lightweight, breathable clothing that you do not mind getting dirty
Accessories: please limit the number of accessories you wear. Consider tying hats, sunglasses, and other accessories to your clothing so they do not sink in our pond.
Hair: Securely tie back your long hair.

What to Leave at Home:

Electronic devices
Valuable, non-replaceable items (jewelry, etc.)
Banned items including weapons, drugs, and alcohol

Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland is not responsible for any lost or damaged items.

For all registered teams, bring whatever materials you will need to finish and assemble your boat on property. GSOH will not provide additional duct tape, cutting tools, or cardboard. Keep this in mind in case you need to make repairs after transport- it is a good idea to bring a few extra pieces of cardboard or a roll of duct tape!

Park

Each team has one parking spot near the pond. This is for transporting your boat. Everyone else parks in the Wawinges lot and walks down. Handicap parking is available by the pond.

Check In

Check in your team to receive your boat zone location and heat information. Do not bring your boat with you to check in.

Inspection

Unload your boat to your boat zone location and wait for a volunteer to inspect your boat.

Inspection checks for the following:

Size of Boat
Boat materials
Boat safety including a demonstration of your exit plan

Each team can try to fix their boat if it fails any part of inspection.

You cannot change your boat after passing inspection. A GSOH staff member or volunteer watches the boat zone during the event.

Leave your boat in the boat zone and enjoy watching the other races until it is your turn to race.

On Deck

During check in you will receive an on-deck time and heat time. Keep this information with you so that you know when to get ready for your race.
An announcer updates the crowd on which teams are racing and which teams are on deck.
When you are on deck do the following:
- Grab your boat.
- Head over to the on-deck area marked on the map.
- Put on Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs).
- Listen to the volunteer’s reminder of the race rules (See race rules below).

Race

When it is your heat do the following:
- Move your boat up into position and wait for the instruction of the volunteers.
- Teams will get one whistle to start getting in their boat and another whistle, 30 seconds later to begin paddling.

Race Rules

Teammates that are not in the boat must remain on the shore during the race.
Wear PFDs while in the water.
You must listen to the direction of Lifeguards and volunteers during the race.
You must be visible IN the boat. Not towing it, holding it between your legs, swimming with it or allowing the life jacket to supply the flotation of the vessel.
Teams must go out to a buoy and then turn around and return to shore.
Teams may not interfere with another team. This includes hitting another boat, blocking a path, or shouting insults at another team.

Judging

Judges evaluate teams on the following categories:

Distance traveled (if you sink)
Time (if you make it all the way back to shore)
Teamwork
Sportsmanship
Theme (including costuming and boat decoration)

*All boats must follow the rules above to participate in any part of the Regatta.

*Rules are subject to change.

*Judge decisions are final.